Priority Shipping

We have to stop saying we don’t have the time.

We have time.

We don’t have it as a priority.

If we did, we’d accomplish it. It’d be the first thing we check off the list.

Often, the thing that is most important to us might also scare the hell out of us. So, we find reasons not to do it. We push it aside. We say we’ll get it done tomorrow.

Most of the other stuff on our list isn’t of high priority. It can wait.

We have to stop putting our dreams on hold for another day. For the time when we feel ready. We’ll never be fully ready. We’ll always have doubts. We’ll always question the path forward.

We have to start anyways.

Put all of the other shit aside for a moment.

Accept what is truly important and spend time on that, every day, even if it is just for a few moments. Advancing it forward, at a slow speed, adds up over a long time horizon.

But we never move off the starting line if we don’t actually start.

Priority ShippingBrian Ondrako2022-11-21T21:05:13-04:00

Less Than Or Equal To

Imagine a world where we have less than what we have today.

What could be taken away to still make us feel like we have enough to have a happy life?
What can we do without?

Even more important to ask is if we had less than we have today would we be grateful for everything we have today? Would we complain about that little thing that didn’t go exactly perfect? Would we overthink things that are out of our control? Would we respect the people around us that have differing opinions and leave them be?

In a world where we’re always thinking more more more, have we ever stopped and considered what if we had less?

Less Than Or Equal ToBrian Ondrako2022-04-22T20:05:23-04:00

Important Versus Urgent

What is the most important thing on your to-do list that you want to complete today?

Shut everything else down and put some focused effort to get it off your list as soon as you can. The longer you wait into the day the more distractions appear that prevent you from finishing this critical work. Urgent items that tend to not even be important will creep up. Time will be robbed from your day.

Once that critical task is complete you’ll feel energized and that a huge weight was taken off your shoulders. This will improve your attitude and motivate you to tackle other important tasks.

Don’t let “Tomorrow” become your crutch as to why something never got completed today.

Important Versus UrgentBrian Ondrako2022-04-11T19:17:59-04:00

If It’s Not Scheduled It Won’t Get Done

When it comes to productivity, there isn’t much better than time blocking. This technique can help keep us on track to complete the work we know we’d like to get done.

Resistance to these types of activities can help us become distracted, or worse yet, drop the task altogether for a less meaningful but more urgent one.

We have to be prepared that these things will happen regularly and combat them with specific documentation of when we will get our project done. If it’s not scheduled it almost certainly won’t get done on time. Whatever it might be, chances are it is important to an idea or plan we’ve developed to help us at an unforeseen time in the future.

Help that future self out by recognizing the important work we must get done today and schedule it on the calendar in advance.

Then, we must hold ourselves accountable. Turn off the phones, limit the noise, and get focused on the task at hand.

If we don’t, we’ll get down the road and be filled with regret for not finishing and low confidence in our ability to get things done that are important to us.

By building a great habit of time blocking, we’ll be much more prepared for the road ahead. We’ll be grateful that we stuck through the resistance to complete the project, no matter how small, because we had the foresight that this small step was going to lead us to a grander outcome in the long run.

If It’s Not Scheduled It Won’t Get DoneBrian Ondrako2022-04-11T19:17:19-04:00

Wasted Time

What can be said, but said with less? We sit in meetings, read newsletters, listen to podcasts, etc and the ones that do it best eliminate the filler. They get to the point quickly and articulate the real message that is needed to get across.

How many of us have sat through that hour long scheduled meeting when it really could’ve been completed in 12 minutes? How many times could that meeting have been an email?

We are all aware of the filler around us and complain and scoff when it is wasting our time.

Have we considered how much of that “filler time” we are imposing on ourselves throughout the day without even knowing it?

Staying organized, prioritizing, and eliminating unnecessary tasks can be extremely beneficial to helping us structure a happier and stress free life and remain productive to the things that matter to us most.

When we cut out the filler noise (and tasks) we have all of this extra time to add in so much better stuff to our lives that give us more peace, a sound mind, and a chance to focus on our purpose.

What are you going to cut out of your day today that is filling up your time?

Wasted TimeBrian Ondrako2021-06-25T09:17:22-04:00

Ticking Time

We get 1440 minutes a day. Every day. It never changes. Well, until we have zero. Time is ticking.

When we feel we have so much left we often take it for granted and squander it away. We make some decisions that are questionable even if from the outside they seem so blatantly obvious.

We’ll sit in line at Chick-Fil-A but won’t find time to call a friend and catch up with them

We’ll thumb through Instagram but won’t start the book we’ve wanted to write

We’ll crank out work after hours but are too busy to read a book to our kids

We have all the time to get busy work done but there’s never enough left for the important stuff.

Making the right decisions with our time and prioritizing the critical stuff ultimately leads us in a direction of lifelong fulfillment. That is for certain.

It’s hard to recognize that we are wasting time when we are in the moment and only after we take a 30,000-foot view of the situation we can realize there are areas that can enhance our lives simply by replacing a one-time commitment with another.

Small wins, each day, lead us to the life we’ve always wanted. It’s just hard to see the trees from the forest initially.

Zoom out and the picture becomes much clearer.

Ticking TimeBrian Ondrako2022-03-21T20:46:36-04:00

How Valuable Is Your Time?

prioritization

One of the things I’ve pondered recently is how much my time is worth considering the many competing priorities in my life and it always seems to be a balancing act of epic proportions to get everything done I need to get done. However, there are a lot of these items that I either don’t enjoy doing or feel they are repetitive and administrative and it’d be more beneficial to get help to complete them.

As I thought more about this it reminded me of several years ago when I decided to use a lawn care service to cut my yard, trim my hedges, fertilize, etc. I enjoyed doing it every now and then as it was my time to think but as my son was growing older I wanted to spend that 1 ½ hour normally set aside for yard work and spend it with him. So, that’s what prompted me to bring on German and let him do my landscaping.

I am using a similar thought process nowadays in regards to leveraging Virtual Assistants for many of these administrative tasks. I’ve found through sites like Freeeup.com and others like it there are many people looking for work and are offering their services for a fair price. In the past, I wanted to do everything myself as I thought I was “saving” myself money by not freelancing this workout.

But now I’ve taken a different perspective on the situation and look at the value of my time as it pertains to my work and when the delta between these numbers is in my favor I will often side with the help to get tasks completed.

Here is what I am speaking about. Let’s use a very simple example and this may be eye-opening if you’ve never done this exercise.

Let’s say, hypothetically, you make $100,000 a year working an average of 40 hours per week. And assuming you take a couple of weeks of vacation, let’s use 2 for easy math, that means you work 50 weeks for the year.

So, 40 hrs/wk x 50 weeks = 2,000 hours of work per year and divided by $100,000 = $50 / hour

That means your time can be equated to being worth $50 an hour.

So, as an example, you need to get email lists together for a marketing campaign you are doing. If that would take you 2 hours to complete (or $100 of your time) then you may be better off using a Virtual Assistant at $7-$10 per hour to complete the work while you spend your time using those 2 hours wisely to potentially increase your hourly rate, attract new business, or work on other projects that are important.

Virtual Assistants have become very common nowadays but it’s still something newer I am trying and many people have never even considered it. It’s definitely different handing over control of projects to people you’ve never or barely met but if you look at it as a professional situation and treat it as such you might be surprised at how it turns out.

My advice:

Find a small project to start with that might take an hour or two and try this out.

Make sure you give direct and clear details to your VA and I’d put everything in email and have it agreed upon prior to beginning the project.

You might find it works out well for you and frees up all sorts of time that can be valuable both personally and professionally.